FAC merger, 2C spending, bus schedule changes, and more

Letters

Tools

If your comments are mailed or emailed to us, we'll consider them for publication — unless you request otherwise.

Please include your name, city of residence and a daytime phone number for verification.

Against FAC merger

My family has been involved with arts in the Colorado Springs area over the years. My brother, Jack Geary, was President of the Fine Arts Center prior to his death in 1966. The doors carved by Mary Chenoweth on the Bemis School of Art were done to honor Jack's contribution to the arts and kids in the community.

My involvement came from being the president of the Pikes Peak Arts Council; president of the Arts, Business and Education group; sitting on the board of the Pioneers Museum and building the original Arts at the Airport program, where local artists presented their art and local musicians entertained travelers during the various seasons.

What will happen to Eric Bransby and the other famous artists associated with the FAC? They were not politically correct, and we know what happens when this stuff starts.

If it is a money issue, start selling off all those Chihuly glass pieces, one of the great mistakes by the management of the museum. How did this glass fit into the history and goals of the museum? I am a glass designer, glass blower and expert on 20th century art glass from Scandinavia, and I appreciate Chihuly's marketing skills. The $1 million spent for the chandelier could have been spent on an appropriate investment account.

A voice in the wilderness says his piece.

— Bill Geary

Västervik, Sweden

Wasted revenue

Recently a relatively new intersection (on Serenity Glen just east of Voyager Parkway) near our home was torn up and rebuilt while signs proudly proclaimed "Your 2C tax dollars at work." Existing handicapped ramps were replaced with new ramps that look very similar. (I am handicapped and notice such things.)

Seemingly intact, functional curbing was replaced, destroying one homeowner's sprinkler system in the process. One segment of gutter that had settled an inch or two and the nearby sidewalk that had settled a small amount were torn out and replaced. The result was a lot of money spent to no great benefit other than the contractor's pocketbook.

I asked the mayor's office via his Facebook thread concerning the 2C "improvements" for copies of engineering reports justifying this project, but received no response.

Now there are several other intersections in the area near the DaVinci Academy where various handicapped ramps, sidewalks, curbs and gutters have been spray-painted, some with an "X" that likely means they are due to be replaced.

Is it the city's intention to use a large portion of 2C money for remedial sidewalk work? If so, they lied like hell to us! I voted for the tax increase because I expected it to fix bad roads, such as Voyager from Academy up to New Life Church. That road is rotten and needs fixing, not the sidewalks near my home.

I have begun photographing the marked sidewalks, curbs, gutters and handicapped ramps so that after the projects are finished, I can send before and after pictures to the Independent. I urge other readers to do the same in their neighborhoods. Let's see if anything substantial is accomplished, or if it's just busy work to justify transferring taxpayer dollars to contractors.

— Tom DeLorey

Colorado Springs

Persistent potholes

Why do so many of our streets that have massive potholes and cracks (resembling the Grand Canyon) remain unrepaired? The tax increase passed months ago; I don't see the repairs happening.

There are holes and cracks everywhere I look, getting worse with time. Affluent Lake Avenue to The Broadmoor rattles your teeth; Cresta and 21st, we no longer have a place to avoid a hole; 31st Street would be more comfortable as a gravel road; Garden of the Gods Road is pockmarked with holes everywhere; Nevada, Colorado, Pikes Peak, Cascade, Cache la Poudre, Uintah (major streets) are still unrepaired. Do any of our streets look like they are not in a war zone?

It is midsummer now and repairs should be taking place. Driving in heavy traffic is difficult enough; but almost impossible when motorists have to avoid holes, cracks, deer, homeless and other drivers to get from one place to another. If the politicians can't get the roads repaired, then we need another set of politicians who can.

— David Johnson

Cascade

Another side

I'm very disappointed the Indy did not interview Old North End residents for your July 13 "Bus stop" article. I thought your paper was more objective. Brian Safigan, chair of the Old North End Transit Committee, has presented valid reasons for reverting back to Cascade-Wahsatch.

— Ella Martin

Colorado Springs

Double pushback

I want to respond to July 13 letters by Wilson Reynolds ("Advice for KRCC") and Janet Brazill ("Pass the ERA").

Reynolds complains his beloved "local programs" were taken off KRCC due to financial costs. Well, Mr. Reynolds, are you willing to put the money where YOUR mouth is, and help put in the money to bring these shows back? Also, most major public radio stations that carry NPR-centered news/talk carry most of the popular programs with at least one program at the local level for one to two hours. You might want to look to KCMJ-LP for your Local Public Radio Utopia.

Brazill, radical feminist abortion advocate, tries to defend "the start-over ERA" (which I have not heard about) by debunking the transgender arguments saying we have had transgender restrooms on airplanes for some time. An aircraft lavatory or portable toilet is different from Target stores allowing transgenders to go into restrooms that aren't their biological gender.

In the former, two aircraft lavatories and portable toilets are set up for single individuals. The latter has proven that a more open restroom (like the ones at Target across the country) opens the door for those who want to engage in voyeurism.

The road to the perfect humanistic progressive utopia is such a difficult journey.

— Don McCullen

Colorado Springs

Researching violence

I appreciate the articles and letters in the Indy. Regarding the June 29 letter, "Time for change," Debbie Patton should update her citation to Violence: Reflections on a National Epidemic, 1997 by James Gilligan. Shame is a proven greater trigger to violence. Let's by all means change the paradigm. Let's educate, but not use old paradigms of "men and guns" as we try to move (or live) in a better place. Please.